Acetylene lamp



Nov. 4, 1941. c. v. JOHANSON ET AL 2,261,256

ACETYLENE LAMP Filed Oct. 18, 1958 INVENTORS I CA5 IM IR VJOHANSON DAVIDBCARSE. Jr.

ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 4, 1941 ACETYLENE LAM]? Casimir V. Johanson,Cranford, N. J., and David B. Carse, Jr., New York, N. Y., assignors 'toThe Oxweld Railroad ServiceCmpa'ny, -a corporation of DelawareApplication October 18,1938, SerialhNo. 235,544 3 Claims. (01. 240-11This invention relates to self-contained acetylene lamps which may beexposed to weather conditions adversely affecting their operation.

Heretofore, considerable difficulty has beenexperienced in usingenclosed-flame acetylene lamps in rainy Weather, because of the tendencyof rain to enter the burner housing and extinguish the illuminatingflame. It has been found that rain tends to enter mainly through theventilating chimney, and through the space between the lens-carryingbezel and the main section of the burner housing. An object of thisinvention, therefore, is to provide a simple, durable, inexpensive, andyet efficient enclosed flame acetylene lamp provided. 1

with means for preventing the extinction of the illuminating flame byrain or other foreign matter entering from the outside.

Other objects of theinvention include the provision of such a lamphaving a burner housing provided with a ventilating chimney which isshielded externally against the entrance of water without impairment ofthe ventilating action; the provision of such a lamp having chimneyshielding means adapted to drain the major part;

. top of the chimney 2 by .bolts II threaded into bosses I2 formedintegral with the inside wall of of the rain falling thereon beyond theedge ofthe burner housing; the provision of such a lamp having chimneyshielding means which is mounted simply and sturdily in position; theprovision of such a lamp having a main housing section and 01 alens-carrying bezel hinged thereto, in which a chimney shielding meansis provided which does not interfere with the opening and closing of thebezel; and the provision of such a lamp having a main housing sectionand a lens-carrying bezel: 35.

cooperable therewith, in which means are provided for preventing theentrance of rain between the main section and the bezel to the interiorof the housing.

These and other objects of the invention will; 40.

become apparent from thefollowing description, considered in connectionwith the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of an acetylenelamp embodying the prin-. v ciples of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the chimney shielding hood; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, lookingin the direction of the 0 arrows.

The invention is shown as embodied in a portable acetylene lamp of thetype disclosed in U. S. Patents Nos. 1,822,625 and 1,855,395 issued onSeptember 8, 1931, and April 26, 1932, respective-1' ly, in the names ofWilliam F. Hunt and Hermann C. Stelling. The'invention may, however,

be incorporated in other types of lamps.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, the invention is shown as applied toa portable acetylene 0 lamp comprising an acetylene generator G, ahandle H in the form of a bail (shown in part), a housingR suitablysecured to one side of the j generator G and enclosing a source of lightsuch as a vertical burner- B and a reflector E behind 'the burner. Thehousing R also has a suitable light-emitting opening in the frontthereof.

The housing R comprises a main open-fronted hollow parabolic section Iclosely fitting and secured to the rear of the reflector E. Aventilating chimney 2. is formed integral with and extends from the topof the housing R above the V burner B.- The chimney 2 has lateralventing means, ,such as vents 3, 3A, and 3B, in the side .walls thereof,and a main vent 4 at the top end thereof. A bezel 5 carrying a lens 6 ishinged at thetopto the front of the main section I by hinge and islatched thereto at the side opposite 'such hinge, thus providing accessto the interior of the housing. The bezel and lens assembly 5, -6provides a closure, and when inthe closedpos'itio'n, as shown in Fig. 1,the annular bezel shoulder 8 is aligned with the front annull'ar edge orrim 9 of main section I. e

A protective hood I0 is rigidly secured over the chimney 2. To insurethe proper operation of ventilating chimney 2, spacing sleeves I3 are I4of hood I0 and the top edge of chimney 2. Interposed in the jointbetween the annular bezel shoulder8and front rim 9 of main section I ,7is anannular gasket 32 adapted to form a water tight'seal.

As shown in Fig. 2, the hood II), in the present embodiment, comprisesan unsymmetrical unitary metal member having the shape of a truncatedquadrangular pyramid, openat the bottom and substantially closed on thetop and sides, respectively, by. an imperforate top Wall I4 and sidewalls I5, I6, I1, and I8. It has been found advantageous 'to constructthe hood It with all sidewalls inclined downwardly and outwardly fromthe topwall- I4, and with the rear corner edges I9 and 20 ofsubstantially greater length than the front corner edges 2| and 22, sothat the 4 plane containing the lower ends of these corner edges isinclined at an angle to the top wall I4. In the present'embodiment, themajor part of the lower rim of the hood Ill, comprising bottom edges 23,24, and Z5,also lies in this inclined plane. The major portion of thebottom edge 26 of the front wall I5 is in the form of an arc, whichslopes downwardly on each side of the center of the-bottom edge, meetingfront corner edges-ll and 22 at the lower ends thereof. The front wallI5 is also provided with a centrally arranged substantially rectangularrecess 27 extending upwardly from the bottom edge 26, and

positioned between the inner side of the top wall a the front wall I isbevelled for a short distance immediately above recess 21 as at 28. Acentrally arranged curved recess 29 is also provided in the rear wallI"! and extends upwardly from the bottom edge 24. Bolt holes 30 areprovided in top wall I4 to receive the bolts II and secure the hood tothe chimney 2.

As embodied in the acetylene lamp of- Fig. 1, the hood Ill is securedover the top of chimney 2 with each portion of the bottom edge of eachside wall lying below the level of the vents in that wall of the chimneyimmediately adjacent thereto; and with the top wall I 4 and all sidewalls spaced from chimney 2, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, by means ofspacing sleeves I3 through which pass bolts II threaded into bosses I2internally of chimney 2. The whole bottom edge 26 of the front wall I5lies over and close to housing R, and a portion of the wall I5 islocated over and adjacent to the joint between main section I and bezel5. Hood I0, furthermore, is positioned with the plane containing thelower ends of the corner edges I9, 20, 2|, and 22 inclined downwardlyaway from the opening in the front of the main housing section I towardsthe rear of housing R, and withthe lowest part I of the lower rim ofhood IU extending well beyond the outer boundary of the housing R. Re-

cess 21 and bevel 28 in the front wall I5 are positioned immediatelyabove hinge I and are adapted to receive hinge I when bezel 5 is swungedge 24 lies well beyond the rear boundary of housing R.

It may be seen, therefore, that the hood I0 very effectively shields thechimney 2 from the entrance of rain or other foreign matter througheither the top or lateral vents in the chimney. Moreover, the inclinedwalls of the hood I0 so function as to carry most of the rain fallingthereon to a point beyond the outer boundary of the housing R.

Thus, rain falling upon top wall I I flows down side walls I5, I6, andI8 to the bottom edges thereof, all of which slope downwardly. Water,therefore, follows the downward slope of these bottom edges and iscarried toward the rear of housing R and discharged beyond the rear.boundary thereof from bottom edge of rear wall IT. Water which flowsdown the wall I I, of course, also is discharged from bottom edge 24.

Although the foregoing description relates to means for preventing theingress of rain or other foreign matter through chimney 2 to housing R,it is obvious that, in the acetylene lamp of Fig. 1, there existsanother point subject to the entrance of rain, which may seriouslyaffect the operation of the lamp. As has been mentioned before, bezel 5is hingedly mounted upon main section I of housing R with the surfacesof annular shoulder 8 and front rim 9, of bezel 5 and main section I,respectively, coinciding when bezel 5 is in the closed position. At thejoint between coinciding surfaces 8 and 9, there exists a small spacethrough which rain may have access to the interior of housing R. Inorder to prevent the entrance of rain, therefore, suitable sealing meansis provided to seal the space between coinciding surfaces 8 and 9.

Shoulder surface 8 of bezel 5 is provided with an annular groove 3| inwhich is set a gasket 32 of wicking or other suitable water-proofmaterial. Groove 3| is so shaped as to receive only a portion of thethickness of gasket 32 and the remainder of gasket 32 forms an annularprojection jutting from surface 8. When bezel 5 is latched in the closedposition, the projecting portion of gasket 32 is compressed against thewide surface of front rim 9 of main section I and effectively seals thespace between bezel 5 and main section I so that moisture is effectivelyexcluded from housing R.

From the foregoing description, it may be seen that an acetylene lamphas been provided in which the burner housing is effectively protectedagainst the entrance of rain or other foreign matter from the outside,with a resultant increase in the dependability of the lamp for operationin any kind of weather.

We claim:

1. In a lamp, the combination with an illuminating burner housingcomprising a hollow main section having an opening, a closure for saidopening, said closure having a hinge member on the top thereof connectedto the top of said main section to permit swinging said closure to openand close the same, and a ventilating chimney associated with said mainsection, said chimney having venting means; of means for shielding saidhousing from the entrance of rain or the like, said means comprising ahood disposed over said chimney, and sealing means between said closureand said main section, the major portion of the lower rim of said hoodbeing below the level of said venting means, a front portion of saidlower rim being disposed above the joint between said closure and saidmain section, and the front of said hood having a recess therein adaptedto receive said hinge member when said closure is in an open position.

2. In a lamp, the combination with an illuminating burner housingcomprising a hollow main section having an opening, a closureforsaidopening, said closure having a hinge member on the top thereofconnected to the top of said main section to permit swinging saidclosure to open and close the same, and a ventilating chimney associatedwith said main section, said chimney having vent means; of a hooddisposed over said chimney, the major portion of the lower rim of saidhood being below the level of said vent means, a front portion of saidlower rim being disposed above the joint between said closure and saidmain section, and the front of said hood having a recess therein adaptedto receive said hinge member when said closure is in open position.

3. A chimney hood for use with a lamp including an illuminating burnerhousing having a chimney associated therewith, said hood having theshape of a truncated polyangular pyramid, the lower ends of the corneredges and the major portion of the lower rim being in a plane angularlyinclined to the top, two adjacent corner edges of said hood being ofsubstantially equal length and shorter than the other corner edges, andthe lower rim of said hood between said two substantially equal corneredges being inclined downwardly on each side of the center thereof.

CASIMIR V. JOHANSON. DAVID B. CARSE, JR.

